Vasai's hero auto driver stops another robbery

Ganesh Pandey, the auto driver. Pic/ Hanif Patel

The Vasai autorickshaw driver, who had prevented a burglary attempt at a shop last month, has earned himself the hero tag with once again helping the police put a criminal behind bars. In the wee hours of Friday, Ganesh Pandey was waiting for passengers outside the Vasai railway station when he noticed a 19-year-old boy heading towards the platform with two expensive bicycles.

"Around 2:30 am, I saw a boy riding one bicycle and carrying the other in his one hand and heading towards Vasai railway station. Suspecting that he was stealing the bicycles, I swung into action to nab him," said Pandey, who plies rickshaw at night. Suspecting something fishy, he called other autorickshaw drivers -- Jitendra Chaube, Bablu Yadav - who were nearby and followed the boy, identified as Aniket Rajbhar.

Pandey and others nabbed Rajbhar after chasing him for about a kilometre. When they started asking him questions about the bicycles, he confessed that he had stolen them from Stella Bhabola Road in Vasai West. Rajbhar, a resident of Santacruz, was planning to take the first local in the morning back home with the bicycles.

The thief, Aniket Rajbhar

Pandey immediately informed Constable Kiran Awhad of Manikpur police station who then took Rajbhar in custody. "We have booked the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. Later today, we produced Rajbhar before a court which remanded him to police custody," a cop from Manikpur police station told mid-day on Friday.

Pandey has helped the police catch close to six thieves in the past four months. Mayor of Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation had even honoured Pandey and his friends for their bravery in catching the thieves. The mayor had also given him Rs 10,000 as reward for taking the initiative in stopping crimes.

Last month, Pandey had stopped a burglar from breaking into a fashion designing store at Anand Nagar.

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